President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Spouse attended the ceremony in celebration of Vietnam’s 77th National Day. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong)

Leaders’ activities

On the occasion of the 77th National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - 2022), Leaders of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the People's Republic of China, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Cuba, Russian Federation, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Singapore, United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Japan, Republic of Korea, UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, Canada, USA, Netherlands, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Pakistan, Panama, Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Secretary-General of the United Nations, General Secretary of the Francophonie… sent their messages and letters of congratulations to leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam.

On August 31, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the ceremony in celebration of Vietnam’s 77th National Day (September 2, 1945 - 2022) in Hanoi. The event was attended by central and Hanoi officials, along with foreign diplomats and heads of international organisations.

On the evening of September 3, the ceremony to receive a UNESCO certificate accrediting Practices of Then by Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic minority groups in Vietnam as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity was held in Nguyen Tat Thanh Square, Tuyen Quang City, Tuyen Quang province. The Then practices were officially inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered a speech in which he affirmed the accreditation is a national brand that the world has reserved for Vietnam, thereby contributing to the introduction of special cultural heritages in the northern mountainous region to international friends and making this area more attractive to tourists.

On the morning of August 31, at the Presidential Palace, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Chairman of Lotte Group Shin Dong-bin, who was on a working visit to Vietnam. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed Lotte Group’s investment of nearly 5 billion USD in Vietnam and suggested the Republic of Korea’s conglomerate further invest in Vietnam’s large projects.

On August 29, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received President of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Alok Kumar Sharma, who is also British Minister for the Cabinet Office, praised his contributions to stepping up the delivery of COP26 commitments. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said following COP26, Vietnam has actively worked to fulfil its commitments.

On the same day, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomed COP26 President Alok Kumar Sharma, to discuss cooperation in climate change responses and push for the establishment of a Just Energy Transition Partnership between Vietnam and its development partners. Even though Vietnam is confronting various challenges in terms of finance, technology and capacity like many other developing countries, it is determined to fulfil its commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK last year, he said, particularly referring to the “2050 net-zero emissions goal.”

On the afternoon of August 31, at the Government headquarters, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh received Medical Representative of Japan’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Matsuoka Yoshinori, who was in Vietnam to prepare for the grand opening of T-Matsuoka Medical Centre in Hanoi.

On the afternoon of August 29, at a reception at the Government headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam told visiting Senior Aid to US Senator Tim Rieser that Vietnam always considers the US one of its top important partners. Deputy Prime Minister Dam thanked the Senior Aid to US Senator for his contributions to ties between the two US parties and Vietnam as well as the post-war recovery programmes between the two Governments.

On September 4, Politburo member and Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City's Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen hosted a reception for US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry who stressed the need for the US and Vietnam to strengthen cooperation to carry out policies in response to climate change.

Activities of the Foreign Affairs Minister

Commemorating the 77th National Day, on the morning of September 1, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son led a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

On August 31, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son awarded the medal "For the cause of diplomacy" to Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative, expressing recognition and appreciation for her effective support and active cooperation with Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the past five-year working term.

On August 30, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception for Cuba’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardo Peñalver Portal, who was on an official visit to Vietnam from August 28 – September 1 for the seventh political consultation between the two Foreign Ministries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception for Cuba’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardo Pefialver Portal. (Photo: WVR/Tuan Anh)

Bilateral activities

On the occasion of the Vietnam-Danish Business Forum to be held on September 5, Ambassador Luong Thanh Nghi gave an interview about Vietnam-Denmark relations as well as the potential investment attraction of the Vietnamese market to Danish businesses.

On September 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland organized "Vietnamese Culture Day" in Lucerne to celebrate the 77th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day (September 2, 1945 - 2022).

On August 28, the Vietnamese Embassy in Slovakia coordinated and supported the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Association in Slovakia to organize "Vietnam Day" in Bratislava. This is the first time the event has been held on a large scale in Bratislava, honoring the cultural identity of Vietnam, demonstrating the growing role of the Vietnamese community in Slovakia.

On August 31, Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu received a delegation from the Lao Embassy in Hanoi led by Deputy Ambassador Chanthaphone Khammanychanh to congratulate the 77th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day, 77 the year of establishment of the diplomatic sector (August 28, 1945- 2022) and 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Laos (September 5, 1962 - 2022).

On August 30, in Washington D.C., USA, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink co-chaired the 9th Vietnam-U.S. Asia-Pacific Dialogue. At the Dialogue, the two sides discussed many issues in bilateral relations and on promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, affirming the importance of maintaining and promoting the development momentum of the Vietnam - U.S. Comprehensive Partnership, and agreed to reconvene for next year’s Asia-Pacific Dialogue in Vietnam.

Participants of the 9th Vietnam-US Asia-Pacific Dialogue in Washington D.C., U.S.A. (Photo: US Department of State)

On August 30, Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc presented the Exequatur to Mr. Karl Van den Bossche, the new Consul General of Belgium in Hanoi and also the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium in Vietnam.

On August 30, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long had a meeting with Ambassador Heinrich Schellenberg, Director General of the Asia-Pacific Department and a number of officials from the Asia-Pacific Department, Ministry of Finance. Ambassador Heinrich Schellenberg affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Switzerland in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region.

On August 29, at the seventh political consultation session, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc and Cuban First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardo Pefialver Portal reviewed areas of cooperation between the two countries and ministries and agreed on measures and orientations to deepen their special relationship in the near future. They agreed to continue working closely together to prepare for high-level visits and meetings, effectively uphold the efficiency of mechanisms related to theoretical workshops between the two Parties, the Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Scientific-Technological Cooperation, the defence policy dialogue, and the political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

From August 29-31, Deputy Foreign Minister, Chairman of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Pham Quang Hieu had a visit and meetings with overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu attended and spoke at the ceremony to celebrate 77th National Day in Prague (August 30), praising the outstanding contributions to the homeland of the Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic.

Multilateral activities

On September 2, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution on the organisation of a “High-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”. The resolution was jointly introduced to the UNGA by Viet Nam, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden, and Indonesia. It received high consensus from all countries, with 129 participating as co-sponsors. This is the second resolution approved by the UNGA that Viet Nam has jointly initiated, after the first on the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness (December 27) passed in 2020.

On September 1, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), met with UN Under Secretary-General and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill. The Ambassador affirmed that Vietnam is willing to contribute to the UN's policies and strategies in the field, including an initiative on a global digital agreement in the Secretary-General's report on “Our Common Agenda”.

From August 29 to September 1, in New York, the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) held its second regular meeting to discuss the budget for the implementation of UNDP's Strategic Plan for 2022-2025.

Speaking at the Dialogue, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang highly appreciated UNDP's role in supporting people in remote and vulnerable areas, capacity building, providing data, research, and policy recommendations to the government and people.

On August 29-30, the Embassy of Vietnam in Korea and 16 other representative missions dispatched laborers to work in Korea (Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Pakistan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Laos, Thailand, Kyzgystan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka) collaborated with the Human Resource Development Service of Korea (HRDK) to organize the 2022 Employment Permit Program (EPS) Workshop in Changwon, Gyongnam, Korea.

Citizen protection

On September 1, the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh helped to secure the repatriation of 26 citizens through Tinh Bien border gate, An Giang, of which 11 were rescued from the labor facility related to the case on August 18, when citizens fled, crossed the river back to Vietnam, including one citizen who was caught while fleeing.

Thus, up to now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative missions in Cambodia have coordinated with the authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia to safely bring back more than 600 citizens who were scammed and tricked into illegal labor. The Vietnamese representative missions in Cambodia are also urgently verifying the identities of some people rescued by Cambodia without papers and will soon return home.

Other activities

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of UNESCO’s Resolution honouring President Ho Chi Minh as a Hero of National Liberation and a Great Man of Culture of Vietnam, in an interview with the press, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc has highlighted the value of Ho Chi Minh Thought legacy as “universal and timeless”, embracing independence, self-reliance, human liberation, international solidarity, appreciation for cultural diversity, eradication of illiteracy, life-long learning in combination with global education, environment protection, among others.

Last week, the Vietnamese representative missions abroad held celebrations and receptions on the occasion of the 77th Anniversary of the National Day of September 2.